Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of bringing China into the current war in Ukraine, referring to it as "the second biggest mistake" by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Addressing journalists in Kyiv, Zelensky said, "This is the second mistake for Russia. The first was North Korea. They drag other nations into war. I think they are now dragging China into the war."
Zelensky made the statements as he introduced reports of evidence indicating a large number of Ukrainian citizens were being recruited by Russia's army to fight in the war. He also said Ukraine was aware of more than 150 Chinese citizens who had been sent to the front lines.
He explained, "The 'Chinese' issue is serious. There are 155 individuals with names and passport information who are combating Ukrainians on the Ukrainian territory," alluding to a recent report that two Chinese citizens who were fighting in the Donetsk area had been recently captured by Ukrainian forces.
Zelensky had previously posted a video revealing one of the two Chinese captives, in military camouflage uniforms, wrists tied. In the video, the man replicated gunfight noises and uttered some Mandarin words. The Ukrainian military leaders said they recovered Chinese identity cards and agreements on Russian military service among the captives.
But China soon dismissed Zelensky's allegations of mass recruitment of Chinese citizens by Russia. The Chinese government advised its citizens to steer clear of armed conflict.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry official, Lin Jian, called Zelensky's claims "absolutely groundless," stressing, "The Chinese government has always requested its citizens to keep away from zones of armed conflict (and) stay away from armed conflicts in any shape or form."
Kyiv added that North Korea had deployed more than 10,000 troops to support the Russian forces following a major cross-border attack last year by Ukraine on Russia's western Kursk region.
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